25 flood insurance claims·$467,287 paid·6 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Mitchell County, Iowa. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding and standard river flooding occur with near-equal frequency, driven by 22 flash flood events and 21 flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database. Heavy seasonal rainfall can rapidly overwhelm local basins, as demonstrated in May 2023 when consecutive days of rain caused minor flooding along the Little Cedar River. Widespread river flooding also occurred in June 2024 following rainfall amounts upwards of five inches that pushed the Cedar River and other northeast Iowa basins into flood stage.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $28,669 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 8 claims averaging $19,345 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 4 claims averaging $6,458 with an average recorded water depth of 12 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated near rivers and streams, as well as structures located within Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas where historical claims and recorded water depths demonstrate consistent flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2004, with 6 claims and $174,673 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
34 NOAA storm reports from Mitchell County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 19, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Aug 23, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2021 | $750,000 |
| Flood | Jun 8, 2018 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Oct 27, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Aug 24, 2016 | $220,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 23, 2024. Above normal rainfall over the course of June, combined with a robust rainfall event between June 20th and 22nd, led to widespread river flooding across portions of northeast Iowa. Rainfall amounts upwards of 5 inches between the 20th and 22nd allowed the Mississippi River, Cedar River and many other river basins in northeast Iowa to enter flood stage towards the end of June. Flooding along the Mississippi River m…
Flood · Jun 22, 2024. Above normal rainfall over the course of June, combined with a robust rainfall event between June 20th and 22nd, led to widespread river flooding across portions of northeast Iowa. Rainfall amounts upwards of 5 inches between the 20th and 22nd allowed the Mississippi River, Cedar River and many other river basins in northeast Iowa to enter flood stage towards the end of June. Flooding along the Mississippi River m…
Flood · May 14, 2023. Four consecutive days of light to heavy rainfall events during the middle of May resulted in near 1.5 inches and some minor flooding along the more narrow, shallow rivers in northeast Iowa. Initial light to moderate rainfall on May 12th quenched soils from a drier than normal spring, while subsequent storms over the weekend of May 13th-14th resulted in rapid runoff and minor flooding along the Little Cedar and Tur…
Flood · Aug 28, 2021. A complex of storms moved across northeast Iowa during the late afternoon and evening of August 27th. These storms produced two tornadoes in the vicinity of Marble Rock (Floyd County). The first tornado was an EF0 west of Marble Rock that only caused some minor crop and structural damage to a farm. The second tornado was rated as an EF1 that passed just to the south of Marble Rock as it moved southeast. Nearly all…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Mitchell County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.